After years of fundraising efforts, the team at the North Bend Public Library is ready to start a list of renovations that will make the 35-year-old structure safer, more accessible and welcoming to patrons.
The staff at the library have been working alongside the North Bend Public Library Foundation and other community partners to raise funds and establish goals for the project since 2017. This included strategic planning, structural assessments to the building, and public input sessions.
“When we approached the improvements to the library, it started as a desire to better serve the community by enhancing our ability to do that in our physical space,” said Haley Lagasse, Director of Library Services at the North Bend Public Library.
“We wanted a welcoming space that helps staff provide the programs and services that people of all ages and abilities would like to have at their library,” she said.
Library services have grown and changed since the building was opened in 1989, Lagasse said.
“We provide the things that you would expect a library to provide, like books and DVDs and story times. But we also try to be creative and have programs and activities that enhance people's lives and improve their quality of life – educational programs, concerts, science programs for kids – just a really broad variety of things,” Lagasse said.
The library building needs to reflect the changing needs of the community, Lagasse said.
“For example, when this library was first opened, it didn’t have any computers available for public use. This now takes up physical space, staff time and other resources,” she said.
And while the library has been well-used by the community over the years, time has taken its’ toll on the structure.
“We have a lot of people who use the library every day. So when you consider the age of the facility and the fixtures and the carpeting and all those sorts of things, it really is time for a refresh,” Lagasse said.
“The library has made incremental improvements along the way. But it needs a major update so that we're able to provide the services that people want into the future,” she said.
Project goals include refurbishing the library entrance and lobby, as well as the community room; updating and improving accessibility in the public restrooms; updating the children’s room and teen area; and providing new lighting, paint and flooring in the building.
“Less glamorous maybe, but very important, is that we are going to continue the work that's been done to secure the long term viability of the facility – making sure that it's structurally sound,” the library director said.
The first piece of the restoration project started last summer with the refurbishment of the exterior of the library. The facade of the building was cleaned and resealed.
“An additional element of our next stage of renovation will be to replace some of the roofing in the building. We are starting to experience some leaks in the library. Those are very practical things that we're doing in addition to the really fun and exciting things like working on the children's room and the teen area,” Lagasse said.
The primary mechanism that has been used for fundraising for capital improvements is a partnership between the City of North Bend and the North Bend Public Library Foundation.
Some of the major grants the foundation was able to secure include $250,000 from The Ford Family Foundation; $50,000 from the Roundhouse Foundation and another $50,000 from an anonymous foundations in support of improvements to the children’s room and teen area, as well as a $40,000 grant from the Judith Ann Mogan Foundation in support of the teen area.
The library has also received technical assistance from CCD Business Development and funding under Oregon House Bill 2345 to assist with resource prospecting and assistance with grant writing.
The first renovations that will be made are the replacement of the main entry doors later this Spring. The remaining elements of the renovation are slated to begin in July of 2024.
“We do anticipate that there will be a period of time that the library is closed. We hope to be able to minimize the amount of time we're closed and to stage the steps of the renovation so that we may be able to provide partial service,” Lagasse reported.
The library director voiced appreciation for the number of different agencies and community groups that have come together in support of the project.
“I knew going into it that it would be a challenge to find the funding to make this project a reality. It has been really exciting to see our city, the Urban Renewal Agency, our library foundation, groups like the Friends of the Library, and just local donors coming together to make it a reality,” Lagasse said.
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